


The Scent of Stale Coffee

by Sketchy_Skittles



Series: Peach Drops and Gingersnaps [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Coriander McHeir, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, Kinda, Low-key considering changing the rating so if you think I should let me know, Miryenn Wreath, Secret Admirer, Secret Crush, Spade Arder, Stargazing, all the chapter titles are just song names, but only mildly tbh, i swear this story isn’t super depressing, implied/referenced trauma, in case you can’t tell I’m trying to get better at tagging stuff, ive never worked in a cafe so idk how accurate any of this is, nothing but respect for those who work in the restaurant industry, of some kind, only a bit but still, shitty customer being an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-27 02:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19781485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sketchy_Skittles/pseuds/Sketchy_Skittles
Summary: “I got another letter!”Coriander paused. Spade leaned out the service window, sporting a cheeky grin.“The romance saga continues!”She tore open the envelope and scanned the letter.“Well? What’s it say?”Miryenn scurried over and shoved the letter in Spade’s direction, a combination blush and grin lighting up her face.“Oh, a date! Now ain’t that sweet! You gonna go?”“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”-Miryenn gets asked out, and Coriander’s feelings on the matter are mixed





	1. Half-Caff

**Author's Note:**

> Go! Child is such a Miryenn/Coriander band.  
> like 90% of their songs apply to their story its great. Please listen to them they’re really good.

The scent of coffee permeated throughout the apartment as she dug about in the cabinet, waiting for it to finish brewing. A small assortment of cups and mugs greeted her, as they did every time she woke up this early, and yet to her it seemed wholly impossible to find the mugs she was looking for. The greeting turned to mockery with their cheesy puns and chipped corners one needed to watch for, lest they cut their lip on the edge. A moment’s more of searching and she shoved the cabinet door shut, turning her frustrated gaze to the sink.

Right where the mugs in question were resting, clean and dry after the washing they endured the night before. Coriander sighed, ran her fingers through her hair (getting them only slightly stuck in a knot along the way), and nabbed the old mugs from the drying rack. Or pile, really, judging by the mess of silverware and plates tossed left lazily beside them. 

She made a mental note to put away the dishes at some point tonight.

The coffeemaker clicked, groaned in the mysterious way it did, and she stole the pot from its space in the contraption with the kind of robotic grace one earns after repeating the motion several hundred more times than necessary for both her health and others. 

Just outside the window, a bird chirped sleepily, presumably the only other member of the city awake this early, not counting the slivers of the sun peeping up from beyond the horizon.

She poured coffee into both mugs—right to the brim of the one with an uncoloured cat, ¾ the way up the one painted with flowers—and took a moment to take in the steam. She added a teaspoon of sugar to the first mug and, as though savoring the average beauty moment, slowly poured milk into the second. It swirled in the mug, transforming itself into a whole other Milky Way before vanishing from sight as the drink climbed to the top. This was her favorite part of the whole process: creating a little universe within the mug, a silent splotch of space known of by none other than herself. The splendor of it all woke her up rather well.

She heard the faint chirp of an alarm cry out from somewhere else within the apartment.

Of course, doing this every morning required  _ getting up early _ every morning. 

Coriander was not quite as enthused by that. 

The staccato caw of the alarm was cut off just about as swiftly as it began, its end accompanied by an unpleasant-sounding thud. She swore she heard a faint cuss through the thin walls. She chuckled.

Ahead popped around the corner, complete with unruly hair and a crumpled tank-top and shorts that clashed quite strongly. Her face still carried the weight of sleep, though she smiled upon spotting Coriander.

“Ah, so you  _ are  _ up!”

“Regrettably.”

She approached the countertop,

“Aw, come’on, it’s not so bad”

And leaned forward onto it.

“Easy for you to say, you do this every morning. It’s a miracle the sleep deprivation hasn’t killed you yet.”

“That’s because I’ve got a secret little trick for it.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Strength, perseverance,” 

she scooped up the cat mug

“And a lot of caffeine” she winked and Coriander chuckled.

“Real fancy recipe you got there, Miryenn.”

“Only the best!”

“Sounds like something off one of those novelty mugs we’ve got in the cabinet.”

Miryenn gasped, dearly wounded.

“Hey, I take offense to that! I would at least be one of those cheesy shirts you see online in ads, you know the ones.”

“Yeah, I wish I didn’t.”

“Oh, those shirts are pure art and you know it.”

“Debatable.”

She sipped her coffee and wrinkled her nose a bit at the bitter staleness of it. One would think that living above a cafe would come with getting at least decent coffee, but no. At least the rent was cheap.

“You’ve got no taste in fashion, Coriander. Absolutely none.”

Once finished with their coffees the two stumbled downstairs, Miryenn stopping to change first, as running in pajamas was not a choice she felt would end well for her. While she was out Coriander set about preparing the cafe for the busy day ahead, not bothering to change into something more presentable quite yet. Clicking on the radio, she stumbled through the daily motions: put today’s baked goods in the oven, set up the chairs, put out the salt and pepper, take said good out of the oven.

She failed at that last step, burning the raspberry scones and deciding to whip together a batch or mint-chocolate-chunk cookies instead, as they tended to sell much better anyways. 

She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Flicking off the stand mixer, she greeted the familiar visitor, who was busy tucking a hair behind her headwrap and straightening her dress shirt as she opened the door.

“Well don’t you look nice today. What’s the occasion?”

“What, can’t a girl choose to look nice for no reason?”

“Not if you don’t mind getting flour on your shirt.”

“We have aprons.”

Coriander stepped aside, flipping the sign to ‘open’ as the other girl passed.

“That’s what you always say.”

“Ah, but it doesn’t make it any less true.”

Spade dug an apron out from behind the counter, dusting it off momentarily before tossing it on.

“I’ve got some dough that needs prepping if you wanna prove it.”

“Oh, I will.”

“Mhmm.”

“Your gonna way those words, McHeir!”

With that she walked back into the kitchen to work, Coriander rolling her eyes with a small grin before setting her sights on the menu board.

She was about halfway through writing out the dessert of the day (a black-and-white hazelnut shortbread that had yet to be completed) when Miryenn returned. She paused just outside the door, swapping a quick few words with the mailman as he handed her a small pile of letters, flyers, and catalogues before she strolled through the door.

“Got the mail!”

“Anything interesting?”

She flipped through the stack.

“Coupon books, catalogs—oh! I got another letter!”

Coriander paused. Spade leaned out the service window, sporting a cheeky grin.

“The romance saga continues!”

She tore open the envelope and scanned the letter.

“Well? What’s it say?”

Miryenn scurried over and shoved the letter in Spade’s direction, a combination blush and grin lighting up her face. Coriander tried and failed to focus on writing.

“Oh, a date! Now ain’t that sweet! You gonna go?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

Coriander gave up, setting down the chalk but refusing to turn.

“I don’t know Mi, are you sure this is such a good idea?”

“Oh relax, Cori, we’ve been talking for months, it’s fine.”

“But you’ve never even met them. What if they’re not who they claim to be? What if they let you down?”

“I’m not gonna get kidnapped, if that’s what you're worried about.”

Coriander shot her a look.

“What? It’s probably true! And if I’m not back by midnight, you can always send out a search party.”

Coriander sighed and dusted off her shirt.

“Well, you can do what you want.  _ I’m _ gonna go get ready.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve gotta get changed. Spade, you got thing handled here?”

“Yeah, yeah, you kids go do your thing.”

“We’re both older than you—“

“Just go get dressed!”

She shoved them away, watching them walk to the back with a grumble and a shake of her head.


	2. Enigma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miryenn rounded the corner, thoroughly freshened up with her hair tied back into a messy bun.  
> “You just keep beating me today, huh?”  
> Coriander shrugged.  
> “You're losing your touch, Mi.”  
> She nudged her in reply, smirking.  
> “I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you."
> 
> -
> 
> The day passes by slowly, but not slowly enough to think

Ten minutes later Coriander stepped out of the bedroom, hair tamed and pajamas swapped for a skirt and flannel. She wandered to the kitchenette, buttoning her last button before noting the mugs still left sitting out, coffee staining rings onto the bottoms. She filled them with water and set them in the sink to soak.  
It was at this point, just as she was about to put away the other dishes, that she finally spared a glance to the mail pile currently living on the counter. She abandoned her task in favor of flipping through it idly, mostly just finding promotions for businesses she never visited.  
A single letter caught her eye, addressed to her, written in a familiar scrawl.  
Hesitant, she pulled it from the pile and scanned the return address.  
‘Mama and Papa’.  
Her breath hitched.  
Her left shoulder ached.

  
The bathroom door crept open and, as though on instinct, she threw the unopened letter into the cabinet, far behind the mugs, before slamming the door shut. She took a deep breath as Miryenn rounded the corner, thoroughly freshened up with her hair tied back into a messy bun.  
“You just keep beating me today, huh?”  
Coriander shrugged.  
“You're losing your touch, Mi.”  
She nudged her in reply, smirking.  
“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you. Ready to go?”  
Fine pink dust found its way across Coriander’s cheeks. She didn’t bother trying to wipe it off, she knew she couldn’t.  
“Yeah”

Much of the day trudged on slowly, almost painfully so. It wasn’t an idle kind of slow, as the moment noon struck the cafe became packed to the brim, remaining so for the majority of the day.  
Apparently there was some sort of parade going on a block or two down. Coriander didn’t know the specifics of the matter, and, frankly, couldn’t find it in herself to care. Instead, she spent the day cursing their shortage of staff and scampering between her work in the kitchen and helping out with serving. Whenever she came to a quick pause in her rushing about she would watch Miryenn hurry through the same jam-packed loop she herself was stuck in, or would spare a glance at Spade as she scrambled about her duties in the kitchen. Occasionally a Patron would raise their voice or knock over a chair, causing Coriander to jump and nearly drop whatever it was she was holding.  
She swallowed back her mounting exasperation and pushed on until late into the afternoon, at which point business finally slowed down enough for the three of them to take a break. She leaned on the back wall.

  
“Good god has it been busy today.”  
Spade stepped through the employees only door, finally joining the rest of the world after hours spent in the kitchen, a single coffee cup balanced on her right hand. A single stain marred the sleeve of her shirt.  
“You're telling me! Pretty sure I lost that bet though. Damn.”  
“I told you, girl. It’s just the nature of the job.”  
Spade rolled her eyes with a grin as an ear-piercing shriek of laughter came from one of the tables. A middle-aged man, the only customer still left at the shop, glanced idly at one of the four kids currently running around the table. Miryenn approached them, leaving a plate behind on the service window as she went. Lock of hair had tumbled free of her bun over the course of the day, framing her face.  
“You wanna take a breather, Mi?”  
“In a sec. just gotta drop this off first.”  
Nabbing the coffee cup, she made her way to the man’s table as a young couple sauntered in through the door. Coriander approached the counter to greet them but kept her eyes on Miryenn until they greeted her. Spade raised a brow and, connecting the dots fairly quickly, snorted at the sight.

  
She leaned on the door to the display cabinet Coriander was currently trying to get into.  
“So, Miryenn got another love letter?”  
“Yeah. Now move.”  
She stepped aside, granting her access to the pastries.  
“You think she’s gonna go?”  
Coriander grabbed a dessert special  
“Probably, knowing her.”  
And dropped it into a brown paper bag.  
“Are you excited?”  
She ignored her in favor of dropping a shortbread into the bag and returning to the customers only to meet their backs. It was at this point that she caught the sound of yelling coming from somewhere beyond the human wall.  
She walked around them and instantly spotted the man, now covered in coffee, on his feet, towering above Miryenn. His face was red and his arms swung wide as his kids crowded nearby his feet.  
“—what you did! Do you even realize how much this is gonna cost to clean!”  
“Again, I’m sorry sir, your kids were just—“  
“Oh, don’t start on this again! Don’t you go blaming my kids for your incompetence!”  
“But sir, they tripped me! I swear I didn’t mean to!”  
“Yeah yeah, it’s never your fault. You dumbass servers, why can’t you ever just do something right?”  
He shoved her right shoulder, though Coriander swore for a moment it was her left instead.  
“You incompetent little f—“  
“Excuse me!”  
Coriander approached the man, stepping between him and Miryenn as Spade hurried to flip the sign to closed.  
“What’s going on here?”  
“Are you blind? This dumbass spilled coffee all over me!”  
She crossed her arms.  
“Sir, over the hour you’ve been here, your kids have disturbed the customers and tripped our server, and rather than dealing with them—“  
“They didn—“  
“—you not only screamed at her—  
“I—  
“But physically harassed her as well”  
She pulled a pile of napkins from her apron pocket and shoved them in his hands.  
“You would do us all a great service if you took these, left, and never came back.”  
“Wh—hey! You can’t do this!”  
“Why not?”  
“I—I demand you let me speak to your manager!”  
“I am the manager.”  
A beat.  
“Get out. Before I call the cops.”  
He stuffed the napkins in his pocket and left, children in tow. Coriander turned to Miryenn and extended a hand, which she took gratefully before they walked together towards the back. They passed Spade, who spared them a calm look and a nod before resuming her conversation with the customers.  
Coriander led them back up the stairs to their apartment in silence.

Miryenn sat at the counter. Coriander passed her in favor of approaching the cabinet.  
“You ok, Mi?”  
“Yeah, Yeah, I just feel kinda...”  
She pulled open the door and almost instantly spotted the letter. Her stomach twisted but she ignored it in favor of grabbing a glass and nudging it shut again. She filled it with water and slid it over to Miryenn who smiled slightly before taking a sip.  
“You can feel bad about this, you know.”  
“I know.”  
“And you know you don’t owe him anything—“  
“I know! I just—I still feel bad about it. I ruined both his coffee and his shirt.”  
“He deserved it. Plus, the stain’ll probably come out anyway.”  
“I guess so.”  
They lapsed into silence for a time, breathing in the sunset that crept in through the window. The glass sent light spilling across the counter. Miryenn sipped her water. Coriander rubbed her shoulder. Neither looked at each other  
“Thanks for saving me back there. It really means alot”  
“Don’t mention it.”

After a while Miryenn stood up, stretching.  
“Well, guess I should go get ready. Don’t wanna keep them waiting.”  
Coriander finally turned to her.  
“You’re still going?”  
“Yeah, why not? Plus, getting out is just what I need to clear my head.”  
“If you’re sure.”  
She walked off towards the bedroom, leaving Coriander alone in the kitchen. She took the now empty cup placed it in the sink before eyeing the pile of clean dishes. It would be a good time to put them away, she decided, but the pain in her shoulder was a bit too much to bear the task. Instead she settled back into her seat and pulled out her phone, scrolling idly through texts and emails without reading a single word on the screen.

  
A little more than fifteen minutes later Miryenn stumbled back into the room, a fact Coriander gathered by sound alone. She heard the door open.  
“I’m heading out, don’t wait up!”  
“Ok. Be safe.”  
“I will!”  
The door creaked sharply as it shut. She chewed her lip, waiting exactly two minutes before swapping her flannel out for a nicer shirt

"I can do this."

She stumbled out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Respect your servers kids  
> Title is, again, from a Go! Child song by the way


	3. Caldwell 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together they spotted a star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I listened to this song on loop while writing this section. It’s by Finn M.K. And it’s quality stuff

It took her ten minutes to reach the little diner, at which point the sun had begun its decent past the horizon. The place was notably bigger than the cafe and yet just as packed as it had been hours ago. She feared for a moment that the table had been taken, but was quickly able to spot Miryenn through the semi-tinted window at the very same booth Berry had said she’d be, scrolling idly on her phone, alone. 

Coriander took a deep breath, attempting in vain to swallow back her jitters and still her trembling hands, mumbling to herself:

“You’ve got this. You’ve got this. All you’ve gotta do is walk over there. You’ve got this.” 

Yet she couldn’t quite seem to tear her feet from the pavement. Her breath grew a hair shakier.

“Stop being a baby, Coriander! Just go inside and sit down! It’s not that hard! It’s not—“

Miryenn spotted her through the glass and instantly perked up, beaming and waving.

She couldn’t breathe. 

Her mind crashed like an overrun computer as the world began to spin.

“I can’t do this”

Vision blurry, she bolted.

Miryenn frowned.

Coriander stumbled into the little park across the street, blind to any real destination. Her heart fluttered in her chest and her stomach turned and everything somehow seemed both too quiet and too loud. Her thoughts were no more distinct than static and everything else made just as dizzyingly little sense. She only came to a stop when she tripped and fell into the fountain, bumping her left shoulder on the edge. The passersby paid her little mind. 

She looked up at the figures leaning over her, her vision much to blurry to make them out.

She clutched her damaged shoulder, felt the cold wood beneath her, and had she the capacity she would have said something, anything. The man’s voice boomed in her ears and all at once she found she couldn’t move from where she lay on the stairs.

She blinked found herself again in the fountain, her fingers brushing stone instead of wood. The sunset sky stared back at her as an exasperated driver honked their horn. Her shoulder was bruised but no more injured than that. 

She swallowed back the sick feeling that held her and scrambled slowly to her feet and out of the fountain before dropping onto dry ground. From here she could still see the little diner, though the figures in the window were indistinguishable.

She drew her knees in close and buried her face into them, remaining like that as the sun disappeared. Her shoulders shook, and she yearned for the coffee scent that her clothes often carried, much of which had been washed away by the water.

“Coriander?”

Her head shot up at the sound of her name, searching for the source, only to find Miryenn staring back. Her eyes were soft and her lips pressed into a thin line. The street lamps had been turned on. The park was mostly empty and the sky was dark.

“Can I sit here?”

She turned away from her.

“Sure.”

Miryenn was careful not to nudge her as she sat.

“Are you doing ok?”

“I don’t know.”

“..do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

A single breath passed them both by. Coriander flinched when something was draped over her, but quickly recognized the campfire scent to be that of Miryenn’s jacket. She turned to her! brow turned upwards and her nose wrinkled.

“Your soaking wet. I didn’t want you to get cold.”

Miryenn’s shirt was blue, though it seemed more purple in this light. Her hair was loose and slightly messy.

“Why?”

“You weren’t answering my texts. I got worried and decided to go looking for you. My date never showed up anyway, so it worked out. Well, enough, I guess.” 

Coriander drew the jacket closer. A dog barked.

“I’m sorry?”

Miryenn blinked.

“Sorry? For what?”

“For not showing up.”

It granted her little clarity.

“I wrote to you for weeks, then I just...wasn’t there. I shouldn’t have ditched you.”

She looked upwards, as though searching for a star.

“Kind of a short end of the stick to grant you either way though, huh.”

Miryenn followed her line of sight as a siren wailed somewhere impossibly far off.

“Whenever I got one of those letters, I always tried to imagine who it could be. Who I  _ wanted  _ it to be. I always thought of the same person though.”

A group of kids laughed. Carefully, Miryenn took her hand. Neither looked away from the sky.

“I always imagined you.”

Together they spotted a star.

The cafe didn’t open the next day, and the two of them stayed in bed late into the morning. Even when they did rise, they didn’t bother changing. 

They started putting the dishes away early that afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gay Rights

**Author's Note:**

> Comments would absolute brew my tea. Thanks!


End file.
